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I am having trouble when running games, about half an hour to an hour into playing (doesnt matter on the game) I get a crash and reboot, sometimes with my display going all funny with coloured or black and white lines.

I thought it was an overheating issue to begin with but took my side off and monitored temp running a game and it was a steady 54 degrees celsius which is nothing.

I think it may be my PSU isnt handling the graphics and/or CPU at only 550w. Could this be the case or is my GPU just faulty?

any info would help, thanks

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Digerati

Posted 10 July 2011 - 02:53 PM

Digerati

Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

Retired Staff

3,999 posts

According to their website, it is "Business as usual" - so I would keep hounding them. They may still go under but often someone else picks up the remainder of the warranty work, and certain other obligations.

In the meantime, if you are currently overclocking, the first thing you need to do is stop, and return all your timings and voltages back to the defaults - often easiest with a BIOS reset (just remember to boot straight into the BIOS and Save and Exit). Tiny case and heavy gaming is demanding enough, overclocking could easily overtax cooling resources.

Note while 54°C is a comfortable level for the CPU, there are many other heat sensitive components inside the case, including the chipset, RAM, regulator circuits surrounding the CPU, GPU, and more. Or a weak component may be breaking down during high, but not extreme stress levels. This may be due to a manufacturing defeat (because you just happen to be one of those one-in-a-million type people! )

GPUs run a lot hotter than CPUs but your "display going all funny" could be a clue. Of course it could be going funny because something else just made the computer crash.

Or maybe your small case is failing, as small cases often do, to provide sufficient front to back air flow through the case. I would blast a desk fan in the open side and see what happens. I note, and hope the thought of a cloud of dust in your face that is full of dead skin (dander), microscopic critters (house mites) that thrive on dander, and all that microscopic critter poop (), might be incentive for you to ensure the interior is clean of heat trapping "dust" before blasting a desk fan in there. Just a thought.

While in there, inspect the case to see if it will support any additional, or larger case fans. If not, you likely can replace the fan you have with one that moves more air (higher cfm rating) - typically at the cost of more noise.

If your small case does not cut it, and especially if your case is one of those horrible cases that rely solely on the PSU fan for air flow, then go buy a good Antec mid-tower and dump that mini case. You can always put a smaller ATX board (such as a µATX) into a larger ATX case, such as a mid, full, or extended tower. You will have lots of empty space, but if ATX, screw holes, cable connections, and voltages specifications will all be the same. Plus, with larger case, you can use large (120mm or larger) case fans, preferably at least 1 in front drawing cool air in, and 1 in the rear exhausting hot air out. And I will never own a case again unless it has a removable, washable, air filter.

That said, moving to a new case would surely void your warranty - should it still be honored - so keep that in mind.

Should this require taking it to a shop and or needing parts (keep all receipts), I would think there would be some lawyer or barrister, or executor in the UK, appointed by the court to take complaints and claims against the company at NO cost to you. You might only get 5p on the quid for those repairs, if that, but its something.

According to the eXtreme PSU calculator, even pushing CPU utilization and System Load to 100%, and Capacitor Aging to 30%, I only get 355W minimum, and a recommended 405W. So you have lots of room to spare on that PSU - if it is working properly. HEC PSUs don't really have a reputation - that is, they are not known as the top quality, but there are no red flags about them either. ASUS is a top quality motherboard maker, and AMD is one of the 2 companies that make the most reliable CPUs. If you have a spare PSU, swapping it would quickly rule a bad one out - and ruling out bad power is one thing I like to do right away. However, if it works fine for 30 minutes, it is hard to imagine it would be the PSU, unless it is not getting enough cool air to breath. A desk fan might settle that too.

icikle

Posted 10 July 2011 - 03:23 PM

icikle

Member

Topic Starter

Member

144 posts

A lot of useful information there.

Just a few things to note, my 54 degrees was my GPU not my CPU.

I dont know my CPU temps.

I have only one case fan in my current mini case and no room for others which is bad, I have a spare tower going which is larger and also has a 700w PSU but moving any components will invalidate any chance I have of a warranty.

Mesh are business as usual but only because they were taken over by PCPeripherals, I did phone them and they said the labour would be free but postage and any parts would be my responsibility.

Since I havent paid for this yet, it was a finance buy now pay later deal, due to be paid next month, Im wondering if I should try phoning the finance company as they would be one of Mesh's creditors.

Also the interior of my case is free of dust.

Also all the info you mentioned doesnt account for the fact that the hardware causing the fault could just be...well faulty.

Digerati

Posted 10 July 2011 - 03:41 PM

Digerati

Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

Retired Staff

3,999 posts

I dont know my CPU temps.

Your motherboard utilities disk should have a monitoring program (or check for a more recent version on your motherboard or PC maker's website). If none, I recommend CoreTemp for newer Intel and AMD64 CPUs, or http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>RealTemp for Intels. SpeedFan is a great and popular alternative, or you can try Motherboard Monitor. Unfortunately, I have found that these programs often have problems properly identifying and labeling the sensor they are reading. The temperatures shown are as accurate as the inexpensive, low-tech sensors will allow, but it may say System Fan instead of CPU Fan. Fortunately, the programs do allow you to edit the labels, so I use Everest to verify the temperatures (as it is able to match sensor with label correctly), then edit the label in the monitoring program. In Everest, look under Computer > Sensor, then wait a couple seconds for the readings to appear. Unfortunately, Everest does not minimize to the system tray to show real-time temperatures, otherwise, you could use Everest instead of the others. Check but do not rely on the temps shown in the BIOS Setup Menu. While they are likely correct, running the BIOS Setup Menu is probably the least demanding task you can ask of your computer so it does not show the temps when the system is being taxed. But if the BIOS Setup Menu temps are high, you have problem that needs to be corrected. HWMonitor, from the makers of CPUID is also very informative, but does not minimize to the system tray.

Also all the info you mentioned doesnt account for the fact that the hardware causing the fault could just be...well faulty.

Actually, I did cover that. I said, a weak component may be breaking down during high, but not extreme stress levels. This may be due to a manufacturing defeat (because you just happen to be one of those one-in-a-million type people!